Saudis hold breath on BlackBerry ban

RIYADH — Hundreds of thousands of BlackBerry users were awaiting Monday a decision by the Saudi telecoms watchdog on banning the smartphone's messenger service after tests aimed at allaying security concerns.The regulator had postponed the suspension due to come into force on Friday, allowing time until Monday evening to test suggested technical solutions that would give authorities access to BlackBerry's encrypted data.More 700,000 people subscribe to BlackBerry in the kingdom, most reportedly purchasing the device for personal use. But the birthplace of Al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, fears the popular device could jeopardise its security.Among the reported solutions to avert a halt to BlackBerry's key messenger service is the installation of a local server accessible to Saudi authorities, instead of having data going directly to the maker's servers in Canada.Local daily Okaz quoted Monday a technical source at one of the kingdom's three mobile phone companies as saying that the "tests on the server and requested programmes... have been successful."The quoted official considered last week's problems over the service's fate "a summer's cloud" that has dissipated.Another telecoms source also said the talks between the kingdom's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes BlackBerrys, have ended "reaching a solution accepted by all parties," according to Al-Shams daily.But another official at a telecommunications provider was not as certain."We have not received any response from the concerned authorities until now," the official told AFP, requesting not to be named.Telecoms watchdog CITC has remained mum since Saturday, when it gave the three providers a 48-hour grace period to seek solutions, while a deal with RIM appeared imminent.An official at a mobile phone company had said Saturday that a deal between CITC and RIM was "virtually" sealed.CITC announced last week it ordered mobile providers to block key BlackBerry services from A

Add comment

Nick
Content

Submit